Single Panel Needed To Scrutinize Broad Government Failures, Make Recommendations

Nov 14, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) today helped introduce a resolution calling for a temporary Senate Select Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead - including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. With multiple Senate committees set to hold hearings, Senator Ayotte believes a single select committee represents the best way to fully understand what occurred, identify the lessons learned, and make recommendations in order to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

"Two months after this deadly attack, we still have more questions than answers. The American people deserve to know exactly what happened in Benghazi, and it's Congress' job to ensure there is a full accounting of the failures that led to this tragedy," said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We need to understand why security at the consulate was so inadequate, why requests for additional security were rejected, and why the greatest military in the world was not able to respond within seven hours to save the lives of Americans."

She continued: "A stovepipe approach, with individual committees pursuing their own investigations, won't give us the answers we need. This was a broad failure of government, and we need a single committee that can cut across agency and congressional committee jurisdictions in order to conduct a comprehensive review and make recommendations."

The Select Committee proposed by Senator Ayotte would be composed of eight senators - four Republicans and four Democrats. The panel would be directed to submit an initial report to the full Senate not later than five months after the appointment of its membership - and a final report not later than 10 months after the appointment of members.